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Ystina the Shining (Earth-1938)
Origin The story of the Shining Knight begins a thousand years ago, in a tiny village in what would become Wales. There, Ystina was born to the local cobbler and his wife. As the only child that survived past their first birthday, Ystina was the pride and joy of their family. While Ystina loved their parents, they couldn't help but, feel unfilled by their life. They always feel uncomfortable in their skin for reasons they could never explain and the idea of being a farmer or cobbler or just a wife sounded extremely dull. Still, Ystina was resigned to it, feeling there was nothing that could be done about it. That is until the bandits came by their village. Ystina and a group of children they often played with stumbled upon the hideout of some bandits. The bandits rounded up and children, preparing to kill them when Sir Galahad arrived. Sir Galahad was a young but, a respected member of King Arthur's Knights of the Roundtable. He had been charged with capturing the bandits and found them just in time to save the children. After defeating the bandits, Galahad made sure all the children were unharmed before leaving. Ystina was in awe of the knight for both his strength and kindness. For the first time in their young life, Ystina truly wanted something: to be a noble knight like Galahad. Ystina made a silent vow that would be knight one day, no matter what it took. Ystina began to practice sword fighting with whatever they could get their hands on and convinced a local farmer to teach them how to ride horses in return for help with chores. When they turned fourteen, Ystina knew was time to go. They told their parents they had found a husband near the capital, Camelot. Their parents were happy and told Ystina they loved them. Ystina felt bad about lying to their parents but, knew they would just worry about them if they knew the truth. The farmer that they had helped gave Ystina the promised final payment for their two years of work. An old, rebellious white stallion given the ironic name, Victory. Ystina dressed up in the old clothes of a boy they were friends with. Ystina was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable they were in the clothes. On the way to Camelot, she helped an elderly widow gave Ystina( or "Justin", as they called themselves), save her livestock from wolves. In return, the widow gave them her deceased son rusted armor and old sword. While not in great condition, Ystina was grateful to get any kind of supplies. After a long journey, Ystina made it to Camelot. Knight of the Roundtable After days of searching the city, Ystina finally found Galahad. They begged him to make them his squire. Galahad was unsure at first, feeling like he was too inexperienced to mentor someone. Galahad asked "Justin" how he got his armor. Ystina told the story of the old widow. Galahad questioned if Ystina helped the widow for the reward. Ystina said they did it because it felt wrong to abandon someone if need. Impressed by Ystina's kindness, Galahad agreed to make Ystina his squire. It wasn't easy for Ystina. They need a lot training to catch with the other squires their age and they had trouble making friends due to Ystina's common birth. Ystina also was afraid people of being discoverng they weren't a boy. Still, Ystina trained to be the best squire they could be. Ystina quickly gained favor with King Arthur himself. So, when Ystina asked if they go with Galahad on a mission to recuse some druids, Arthur granted their request. It was to be Ystina's first real mission, and they were overjoyed at the idea getting perform heroic duties. Galahad and "Justin" headed off to where the druids were being kept by a minor lord who wished to use their power. When they got to the castle, Galahad told Ystina to stay outside while he dealt with the lord. When Ystina protested, Galahad told them they were too inexperienced for upfront battle. While Ystina was disappointed, they couldn't disagree. Ystina waited with the horses. Not long after, Ystina saw some townspeople about to burn down a tree. Ystina didn't really care until they heard the tree begging the townspeople to stop. Ystina asked the townspeople why the tree was talking and why the townspeople were going to burn it. The townspeople said the tree was "bewitched" and needed to be destroyed. When it became clear the tree had never hurt anyone, Ystina decided to stop the townspeople. Eventually, the townspeople, left, calling Ystina a worker of the devil. As Ystina was about to ask the tree some questions about how it came to be, Galahad returned with the druids. The druids casted a spell on the tree, revealing that it was the court mage Merlin. A powerful magic-user named Morgaine Le Fey had tricked Merlin into trapping himself and then got the druids captured so they couldn't reserve the spell. Merlin thanked Ystina for their help and gave them a reward: he turned Ystina's old, rusted amour into golden, shining amour that could never be harmed. From that day on, Ystina would be called "Justin the Shining". Over the next few years, Ystina continued to train to be a knight. They only used their armor during real missions. Even without their golden armor, they were extremely good at swordplay and tactics. It became clear that "Justin" was on their way to being a full knight of the roundtable. However, something almost stopped their career in it's tracks. During a mission, Galahad discovered that Ystina wasn't a boy. To Ystina's shock, Galahad wasn't angry. He said Ystina was worthy, honorable squire and Galahad was proud to their mentor. Ystina was truly touched and realized they were in love with Galahad. Still, they knew that Galahad saw them only a student, which Ystina was fine with. They had almost arrived at their dream of being a knight. Soon, that day would arrive. King Arthur would officially knight seven young squires and Ystina was selected They had never been happier. Ystina donned their golden armor and went to the main castle. Just as Ystina got into the castle, monsters began to attack to Camelot. The day Ystina became a knight was the same day Camelot fell. Demon Knights The sorceress Morgaine le Fey had gathered an army of powerful fae to attack Camelot and get the reality-changing Spear of Destiny. King Arthur quickly knighted all the squires and went off the battle. The knights fought hard, but the Sheeda proved too much for them. They might had stood a chance if the knight, Jason of the Blood, had not betrayed them. Soon, the knights were nearly all dead. Ystina had seen Galahad be overtaken by a wave of Sheeda. Ystina was devasted but continued to fight. In the end, only seven knights remained standing. Ystina was among them. Merlin gathered them and gave each a powerful magical artifact. Each was sworn to protect with their lives and to keep it from le Fey. Ystina was soon the only one left. When they asked Merlin would give them, Merlin said he was giving Ystina a differnt task. The wizard gave Ystina immortality and enchanted their horse to become an ever-living pegasus. Merlin explained Ystina was the only one he knew Morgaine could never carport or turn. As such, Merlin tasked Ystina with killing Morgaine and avenging Camelot. Ystina agreed. As Ystina flew away, they watched with tearful eyes as the last bulidngs of Camelot was destroyed. With King Arthur dead, Morgaine became the main power in that part of Europe. Merlin had hidden the Spear of Destiny before he died, Morgaine had her troops rampage across Europe to find it. She even got the help of a true Lord of Chaos, Mordru. Ystina knew they had le Fay's reign, but knew they were unable to do alone. So when the traitor Jason-of-the-Blood, now cursed with being bonded to the demon Etrigan, and Morgaine's sister Nimue offered help in defeating Morgaine, they couldn't refuse. Their tense team eventually grew to include an exiled Amazon calling herself Exoristos, a brilliant alchemist from the Middle East named Al Jabr, a strange girl with the power to control animals called the Horsewoman and an immortal warlord calling himself Vandal Savage. The team were distrustful of each other, but they knew le Fay needed to be brought down. Well, expect for Vandal, who just wanted a good fight. Their guerilla war against Morgaine lasted for ten years. At one point, they even had to team with Morgaine when Mordru almost destroyed the Earth. Over the years, Ystina began to consider most of the team their family. They even found love with Exoristos. They also came to the realization they didn't see themself as a man or a woman, but both at once. The team, called the Demon Knights by locals due to their strange powers, began their final assault on Morgaine's castle after learning she was to close to getting to the Spear of Destiny. Nimue found a way to send the Sheeda back to their home dimension and trap them there. The battle was long and brutal. Finally, Morgaine was defeated and the Sheeda were sent back to their hellish home. However, the Queen of the Sheeda put a final curse on Ystina. Ystina would be tied to the Sheeda to the human world, which would allow them to escape. Nimue was unable to remove the curse so they asked her to put them in a deep sleep, in a pocket-dimension in between Earth and the Sheeda's domain. Exoristos begged them not to, but Ystina remained firm. They kissed Exoristos one last time and told their teammates they were honored to fight beside them. Victory went with them, unable to leave their master. Ystina and Victory entered the dimension and slept for many, many years. Seven Soldiers of Victory Ystina slept for hundreds of years. They may have slept forever if the Sheeda hadn't found a way to break free. The Sheeda found a loophole in Nimue's spell and broke free from their prison. When they went to Earth, Ystina and Victory found themselves in a strange new world. Ystina, unsteady from their long sleep and disorientated by the vastly different state of the world, they wandered the streets of a city with Victory, pointed their sword at anyone who came too close. Ystina didn't understand why everything seemed so different. Then, a dark-haired man wearing a strange hat started talking to them. Ystina put their sword to his throat until the man mentioned he was a friend of Nimue's. The sound of their old friend's name finally broke the haze Ystina under and made them realize what a scene they were making. Putting away their sword, they apologized to the man and asked if they could talk in a more private place. The man accepted and teleported them to his home using magic. The man introduced himself as Giovanni Zatara, a former student of Nimue and magician himself and had been told Nimue that he would meet a Shining Knight one day. Ystina asked in what part of the country they were in. Zatara revealed that they were in a place called Las Vegas and the year was 1977. Over a thousand since Ystina made their sacrifice. Ystina was deeply shocked but had to move on when Zatara revealed the Sheeda had been invading Las Vegas. Ystina would not let another land to fall to the Sheeda. Zatara summoned five other heroes to help them fight off the Fae. The seven heroes couldn't work very well at first. Ystina disliked Viligante's and the Crismon Avenger's lack of honor when fighting. Ystina themself still wasn't used to their new environment and made their fights in the city harder. However, the group started to bond slowly, with Ystina as their unofficial leader. The group made their way to the Sheeda's lair. Ystina confronted the leader of the Sheeda, Queen Glorianna. Queen Glorianna set her main enforcer, Blunderbore, on Ystina. Ystina was horrified to discover that Blunderbore was a magically deformed, brainwashed Galahad. Ystina couldn't bear to hurt their beloved mentor and tried to reach him. However, Galahad was made into a brainless monster. Realizing their mentor couldn't be saved, Ystina ended up slaying Blunderbore with tears in their eyes. With her main enforcer dead, Queen Glorianna was about to fight Ystina one on one. However, Viligante distracted the Sheeda queen by running his motorcycle into her. Before Glorianna could recover, Ystina drove their sword into her. With the queen gravely injured and their magical source gone, the Sheeda were forced back to their prision. When it was all over, the group went to a local tavern or a bar as it was called now. Viligante declared that the Seven Soldiers of Victory after their leader's stead. Ystina thought it was a joke but Viligante said he was serious. When all the other soldiers agreed, Ystina was truly touched. As the soldiers went their separate ways, Zatara asked Ystina what they were going to do now. Ystina said they were going to discover this strange new world and right wrongs. A knight-errant. With that Ystina had Victory fly off to new places. For the next three years, Ystina slowly adjusted to the modern world. They met with Nimue again and continued to save people when they encountered situations like crimes and disasters. They became known as Shining Knight and was thought of as a superhero by the people of the United States. Ystina never thought of themself like that, remaining a knight. When the Earth was invaded by an alien warlord, Ystina fought for the world. However, Ystina never joined the World Army. Ystina thought their time was better spent helping those who were victims of war than fighting in huge battles. They did join in the final battle of the war, the Battle of New York. The Earth was victorious in the end, much to Ystina's relief. Justice League During the next twenty years, Ystina was one of the few heroes active. They continued to travel as a modern knight-errant, although they did decide to focus on themselves a bit more. They frequently visited Vilgante and Bullet-Girl. They often told stories to their former teammates' children and even taught them how to use a sword. They also studied the history they missed diligently. In 1999, Ystin was shocked to see heroes begin to appear again. However, they were very grateful. Ystin had noticed the more and more supervillains had been active again. Ystin knew whenever evil rose, heroes would come to defeat. Still, Ystin kept a respectful distance from these new heroes, preferring to remain solo. When they were feeling overwhelmed, Ystina would return to their homeland, which was now called Wales. One of these visits, Ystin ran into an old foe. The Sheeda had returned to Earth. Ystina fought the battalion of the Sheeda and defeated to them. Before they left through a portal, the leader of the battalion gloated that their full force would soon be upon the Earth. Ystin realized the Sheeda had found a way free themselves. Ystin's first reaction was to call the other Seven Soldiers. However, they soon remembered that could not be possible. Zatara, Star-Spangled Kid, Crismon Avenger, and Guardian had all passed away either during the Worlds War or after that. Viligante and Bullet-Girl were not a good physical condition to fight. Ystin decided to go to Zatara's daughter, Zatanna who had become a superhero in her own right. Ystin took Victory to the Zatara estate and asked Zatanna to ask her team, the Justice League, for help. Zatanna agreed but found her communications wouldn't go through. Zatanna realized that the Sheeda King, Melmoth, had used a spell to stop the heroes of Earth from contacting each other. When Zatanna used to magic to find another Sheeda attack, Ystin and the young magician decided to fight it by themselves. However, they ran into five other heroes fighting their own battles with the Sheeda. Ystin saw this as fate. Soon, a team of Seven Soldiers had formed. The Seven Soldiers headed into the Sheeda's domain. The Seven battled the Sheeda forces. Using a spell , Zatanna combined the powers of the Soldiers. Melmoth used up all his life-force trying to defeat them. Finally, Melmoth died. The Sheeda agreed to stay away from Earth. Afterward, the Seven celebrated the victory. During this, Ystin was asked by Zatanna to join the Justice League. The magician thought Ystin's decades of experience would make them a great asset to the team. Ystin at first thought they didn't truly belong in the modern world. But getting to know twelve great heroes of modern day, Ystina realized they were just scared of letting go of their past. The knight decided to move on to a new dawn. Ystina became a full-fledged member of the Justice League. Ystin stayed in contact with new Seven Soldiers as well, in case the Sheeda ever returned. Recently, Ystina has bonded with the heroine Firebrand and has started dating her. Ystin has had a long, hard life but remains a true knight, dedicated to helping those in need. Powers & Abilities Immortality: '''Ystina was blessed by Merlin with immortality. While they can be killed in battle, Ystin never ages and never gets sick. Ystina is highly skilled in swordsmanship, one of the best in the world. They are also greatly trained in horseback riding. They are the only one allowed to ride Victory, an immortal flying horse. Victory can fly almost as fast as a jet. Ystina is a talented leader, due to years of experience on the battlefield. They also weild an enchanted sword named Vangaurd, that can never break. ''Trivia''''' -Ystin doesn't know what their birthdate is because peasants didn't celebrate birthdays. They do know they were nineteen or twenty when they were granted immortality by Merlin. -Ystin preferred to be referred to with he/him pronouns for most of their life. However, after being around in a new age and becoming more comfortable with themself, Ystina now prefers they/them pronouns. They are also fine with being called Ystin or Ystina. -They still have movie nights with Viligante every other Friday. Even after all these years, the pair still argue about the merits of almost all of them. Don't mention "Dirty Harry" in front of both them if you don't want to hear a passionate debate about wheater the titular character has honor. -Ystin's hair was originally blonde but turned black during their slumber. Ystin doesn't know if it's a sign Merlin's magic didn't completely stop aging or if being in the magical dimension for so long affected their hair. -Victory is very smart, either because of magic or just because of how long he's been alive. He is somewhat lazy but is very gentle with children and the injuried. -Ystina is always very serious. They only let their guard down around their closest allies.Category:Created by MaysileeAurlis Category:Earth-1938 Category:Earth-1938 Characters Category:Heroes Category:Seven Soldiers of Victory (Earth-1939) Category:Justice League (Earth-1938) Category:Expert Combatant Category:Immortality Category:LGBT Characters (Earth-1938) Category:Bisexual Characters Category:Transgender Characters